Has A Full-Scale Millennium Falcon Been Built For Star Wars: Episode VII?

Like few other franchises, the Star Wars universe is such that nearly every single element involved is recognizable and treasured by fans, with the exception of Jar Jar Binks and Hayden Christensen of course. Director J.J. Abrams has more than his work cut out for him with Star Wars: Episode VII, but he might just get a few brownie points with fans should this latest rumor be true. While we aren’t sure who’s going to pilot it yet, word is the Millennium Falcon has already been built, and is just sitting there, waiting for someone to take it on another Kessel Run.

According to Yahoo! Movies U.K. & Ireland, the greatest spaceship ever conceived (arguably) is fully constructed and is sitting inside Buckinghamshire’s Pinewood Studios as we speak. And when I say constructed, I don’t just mean they have a little room with a captain’s chair and a windshield with a lightspeed effect painted onto it; they’re apparently going all out this go-around. Here's what a source told the outlet.

"A full-scale 1:1 Millennium Falcon has been built as well as the interiors of the ship for filming. The Falcon is done – inside and out. The sets were built off-site, ready to move to Lucasfilm/Bad Robot were ready to move into Pinewood."

Hells to the yeah! Seeing as how Disney completely scrapped their hand-drawn animation teams once CGI fully took hold of Hollywood, I was really worried that they would want Abrams to center his effects more in the digital world rather than a practical one. But if they really saw to it that a full-sized Falcon was created, then I’m flabbergasted. Obviously this is the way to go with the franchise, harking back to the world of sets both gigantic and miniature that George Lucas originally filled his first trilogy with. I’ve spent the last eight years trying to forget about that CGI-laden final battle in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and I really really wasn’t looking forward to Abrams ratcheting up the green screen scenes.

Admittedly, Disney could shut this down tomorrow by saying it’s all for their now-delayed Star Wars Land theme park, which wouldn’t be out of the question. But we’re hoping this bigass prop will be serving as a central focal point for the new film, if not for the entire new trilogy. Like the Little Engine That Could, the Millennium Falcon has defied doubters before, and it’s certainly a fine enough machine to make it through another few adventures.

And to wrap this all up with the two actual pieces of information we can certify about Episode VII: it will star R2D2, and it’s coming out December 18, 2015. And just in case this is only a rumor – and it had better not be – let’s take a moment to remember the Millennium Falcon for the beauty that it was.